Place Written: Rome

Writing Completed: c. 60–61 C.E.

5. What points to Rome as the place of writing?

⁵ The place and date of writing can be established with reasonable certainty. At the time of writing, Paul was a prisoner in the custody of the Roman emperor’s bodyguard, and there was a great deal of Christian activity going on around him. He closed his letter with greetings from the faithful ones in Caesar’s household. These facts combine to point to Rome as the place from which the letter was sent.​—Phil. 1:7, 13, 14; 4:22; Acts 28:30, 31.

6. What evidence is there for the time of the writing of Philippians?

⁶ But when was the letter written? It seems that Paul had already been in Rome long enough for the news of and reasons for his imprisonment as a Christian to have spread right through the emperor’s Praetorian Guard and to many others. Also, there had been time for Epaphroditus to come from Philippi (some 600 miles distant [1,000 km]) with a gift for Paul, for news of Epaphroditus’ illness in Rome to get back to Philippi again, and for expressions of sorrow at this to come from Philippi to Rome. (Phil. 2:25-30; 4:18) Since Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome took place about 59-61 C.E., he very likely wrote this letter about 60 or 61 C.E., a year or more after his first arrival in Rome.